The Compendium of Traditional Dietary Files for First Nations and Inuit in Arctic Canada™

Using the DRG™ software, a food consumption database representing several regional and cultural groups in Arctic Canada has been constructed for use in dietary risk assessment. These dietary profile files and the references and strategy used for creating them are compiled in a comprehensive document entitled “The Compendium of Traditional Dietary Files for First Nations and Inuit in Arctic Canada”. These files describe the diets enjoyed in 10 regional/cultural areas in Canada.

The goal of building these files is to have the capacity to consider these important and unique dietary profiles when making decisions that affect the health of these communities and their environments. Using tools such as LifeLine, allows for the consideration that communities have differential risks caused by genetic, lifestyle, dietary, or other factors unique to the population.

These files were constructed with the guidance of Canadian experts. The dietary profile files may be appropriate for use in a risk assessment without modification, or may serve as a starting point for further revision to more closely reflect the community specific dietary practices before the file is used in an assessment.